GLASGOW, July 30 — National weightlifter Mohamad Syahmi Nor Ghazali described his men’s 94kg gold medal triumph at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games as the reward for sacrificing everything to realise his dream.

Mohamad Syahmi said the gold medal on his Commonwealth Games debut was the sweetest reward after spending three months away from his family to undergo intensive training.

The 2025 SEA Games silver medallist said every sacrifice, along with his discipline and commitment throughout his preparations, had paid off when he stood atop the podium to secure the biggest achievement of his career to date.

“This gold medal means so much to me because I sacrificed everything to reach this level.

“I left my family for three months to devote myself fully to training. Thank God, every sacrifice has finally been rewarded with a gold medal,” the 22-year-old told Bernama after the competition at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Armadillo here yesterday.

Mohamad Syahmi also revealed that he contacted his mother before the competition to seek her blessings and words of encouragement.

“Before the competition, I managed to call my mother. She simply told me to give my best. Her advice helped calm me, and I focused only on executing each lift as well as I could,” he said.

Mohamad Syahmi claimed the title with a combined lift of 347kg, comprising 150kg in the snatch and 197kg in the clean and jerk, with the latter setting a new Games record.

He finished ahead of Canada’s Alex Bellemarre, who took silver with a combined 346kg, while Australia’s Oliver Riley Saxton secured bronze after recording 336kg.

The victory also earned Malaysia’s sixth gold medal at the Glasgow Games.

The victory also reinforced Malaysia’s dominance in weightlifting, following gold medal triumphs by Mohamad Aniq Kasdan in the men’s 60kg, Muhammad Aznil Bidin (65kg), Muhammad Erry Hidayat (79kg) and Muhammad Hafizuddin Ruslin in the men’s 88kg categories.

Malaysia have now won a total of six gold medals, including one claimed by national para long jump star Datuk Abdul Latif Romly, who triumphed in the men’s T20 event.

The national contingent have also won two silver and three bronze medals in lawn bowls, powerlifting and weightlifting. — Bernama